Scarlet Pasts
by Angela Jane
Summary: An old boyfriend of Lisbon's is a murder suspect, and suddenly, her past that she constantly avoids is part of her daily life. This case cannot get closed fast enough. Eventual Jisbon.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I am attempting a multi-chapter story… *Takes a deep breath* **

**I'm trying to keep it sort of…In-Character with the show itself, if that makes sense. We'll barely see the ex-boyfriend in this chapter. In the following ones, we will see him quite a bit more, but this is mostly case details. (And slight Jisbon banter, naturally. Kind of unavoidable with them in an area together, right? ;-)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist. Maybe for Valentine's Day from Bruno Heller? …Yeah…I guess not. But I can dream, can't I?**

Lisbon stepped out of her van briskly. She hated cases that woke her up. She liked to walk onto a crime scene feeling refreshed and awake, able to bark orders at anyone around and terrify the local sheriff. Half asleep, she was less terrifying. The only upside to such cases were that Jane often brought her coffee.

As if on cue, the blue Citroen pulled up. She slowed her walk. She needed coffee before she could face a body.

"Hey, Lisbon." In her opinion, he was way too chipper first thing in the morning. Although it wasn't likely he was woken up, she admitted.

Her train of thought was derailed by the steaming cup he handed to her. "Thanks." She took a large drink of it, then smiled at him.

He grinned. "So what do we have here?" He asked cheerfully.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. All I know is Wainwright called me in the middle of the night to come out here. Everyone else should already be here. Maybe they'll know."

He frowned. "It's not the middle of the night, Lisbon. It's six o'clock in the morning. Time to be getting up anyway."

Lisbon nodded. "Middle of the night," she repeated.

He shook his head, but before he could say anything, she spoke, and he realized they were with the team. "What've we got, guys?"

Van Pelt nodded to the right, and for the first time, Lisbon and Jane noticed a woman lying on the ground.

"Jane Doe, probably late thirties. Blunt force trauma to the back of the head, the coroner puts her death between eleven P.M. and midnight. Forensics didn't find a murder weapon."

"A jogger was out with his dog around four A.M," Rigsby cut in. "Suddenly, the dog took off, the jogger followed, found her lying there."

"Jogger's name?" Lisbon doubted he or she was a suspect, since she doubted they'd be foolish enough to take their dog out in the same neighborhood after killing someone, but they might have seen or heard something, and besides, Teresa Lisbon was nothing if not thorough.

"Amanda Haynes," Cho answered.

"What's the dog's name?" Jane cut in.

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "What's it matter, Jane?"

"I'm curious, that's all." He grinned innocently.

"Her name's Sugar," Van Pelt decided to just appease him so they could move on.

"Sugar," Jane repeated. "She even names her dog after sweetness. Too nice of a person. Didn't do it."

Lisbon rolled her eyes again. Honestly, with Jane, she was sure they'd get stuck that way some day.  
>She had no doubt he reached that conclusion the same way she did. He just wanted to show off.<p>

"She's wearing a wedding ring," Van Pelt added, "So we're hoping a husband reported her missing who can I.D. her."

Lisbon nodded. "Good. Any witnesses?"

Rigsby shook his head. "Nope."

Lisbon sighed. She had guessed as much, but there was always the chance of a stray car driving by. Still, she admitted, they probably wouldn't wait around for six hours, then tell the police what they'd seen.

Van Pelt spoke up, "Amanda did call her boyfriend after she called the cops. He says that when he got here, he saw a black truck driving off. Said it was definitely going over the speed limit. Now, Amanda didn't see it, but she said she wasn't looking that way."

Lisbon nodded. "It's probably not related, a killer usually wouldn't wait around for four hours after killing someone, especially not with a blow to the head. Still, try to find out who was in it. Maybe we'll get lucky and they saw something."

"It might be related," Jane spoke up.

"How? A blow to the head is sudden, unplanned. Waiting around that long doesn't fit." Lisbon asked.

Jane shrugged. "Well, if there really was a truck, it probably wasn't related. _If._"

"Why would the boyfriend make up the truck?"

Jane smiled. "Well, to throw suspicion off himself, perhaps?"

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "Then why did he come back to the crime scene?"

Jane stared at her. "Because his girlfriend called him," he answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Lisbon shook her head. Jane never made sense, and first thing in the morning...She gave up.

"It would look rather suspicious if his girlfriend called and he refused to come, right?" He added before she could turn away.

"True, but coming when his girlfriend called doesn't make him a killer. It makes him a caring boyfriend. Especially at four in the morning. What's his name?" The last question was directed at Van Pelt.

"Craig...Matthews."

_No, please no._

Jane glanced at Lisbon as her face paled.

"You know him?"

She laughed humorlessly. "You could say that. Where is he?"

"Over talking to the sheriff," Cho replied. His face, unlike the rest of the team's, remained impassive, despite his equal curiosity at his bosses' connection with the man.

She marched over to him, reminding herself to breathe, (and ignore her team's stares,) as she went.

"Sheriff, when there are suspects to talk to, I'd appreciate it if you run it by me before you do." She snapped.

He shrugged. "Well, alright, ma'am, but you weren't here, and-"

"I'm here now," she replied sharply. "I'd like to have a turn talking to him."

"Well, alright, ma'am..." The sheriff hurried off.

She turned to face the dark-haired man and flinched. He hadn't changed a bit. Aged a little, but he made it look good on him. Sort of like Jane did...She cut the thought off. She had enough troubles to deal with without _that._

"Hey, beautiful." He grinned breezily. "Still just as strong as ever, I see."

She closed her eyes. It was going to be a long case.

**A/N: So, that was chapter one, obviously. I'm a little nervous, but I'm going to go ahead and post this. Feedback would be appreciated, but if you read this without reviewing, I promise I won't tell Red John where you live. (I won't if you do, either, though. ;-)**

**Thank you for reading, and God Bless you. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: A new chapter already! I don't know if I'll be able to update this quick again or not, but I'll do my best. Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews, alerts, and adding this story to favorites, guys. Really. It's a wonderful feeling to look at the screen and see all of your reviews. Anyway, I'm done babbling. On to the next chapter! :-)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist. Maybe for Valentine's Day from Bruno Heller? …Yeah…I guess not. But I can dream, can't I?**

"Hello, Mr. Matthews? My name is Patrick Jane, I work with Agent Lisbon, and was just wondering, what's your connection with her?"

Her eyes flew open. Craig smirked, about to reply, and Lisbon cut him off. "Don't you dare."

Craig shrugged. "Teresa and I dated once upon a time, that's all."

"In high school," Lisbon added. If that's all he was going to say, she decided, that was ok.

Jane grinned. "Ah. So, tell me, who is that woman lying dead, over there?"

Confusion covered Craig's face. "I don't know," he replied.

Jane chuckled. "Yes, you do. I know you do; I just don't know whether or not you killed her."

"I didn't!" Craig glared.

"Then why won't you tell me who she is." Then and there, Lisbon decided Jane was having too much fun.

"Jane, that's enough. Mr. Matthews, do you mind coming downtown and answering a few questions?"

Craig smirked. "'Mr. Matthews?' Never thought we'd reach that point, Reese."

"Agent Lisbon," she corrected through gritted teeth.

He chuckled. "Well, _Agent Lisbon, _I'd be happy to answer a few questions if you think it might be helpful."

"Yeah, we just need to know a little more about the truck you saw. Cho," she called.

Cho walked over. "Yeah?"

"Could you give Mr. Matthews a ride downtown, please?"

Cho raised his eyebrows slightly, but said nothing but "Yes, boss."

She walked back over to Rigsby and Van Pelt. Jane turned back to Craig. "I'll have to get the full story later." He offered, before turning and following Lisbon.

"Rigsby, when we get back to the office, I want you to check Missing Persons. See if someone matching her description has been reported missing. Van Pelt, check out Matthews, see what he's been up to lately-Financials, e-mail, phone…Everything. If he knows this woman, it should be somewhere in there. I'm joining the interrogation."

"Yes, boss." They chorused.

"Um, listen…" Van Pelt began. Seeing Lisbon's raised eyebrows, she shrugged. "Never mind."

She and Rigsby hurried to their respective vehicles.

Glancing up, Lisbon saw that Cho was gone, too.

Jane raised his eyebrows at her.

She ignored him.

He just glanced up at the sky and whistled.

She glared.

"What?" He asked innocently.

She groaned. "Craig Matthews and I dated for about four months, give or take, and then we had a falling out, and broke up. That's all."

Jane grinned. "I didn't ask."

She shrugged. "You were 'Not asking' really loudly."

He chuckled, but then frowned. "Four months…High school… Which grade were you in?"

"Eleventh." She answered uncomfortably.

His eyes flickered in recognition.

"The year your dad died," he realized.

She flinched, and he shook his head. "Just trying to place it," he offered with a smile.

She smiled weakly and he waved. "Shall we?"

She nodded.

The two slid into their respective vehicles, and drove off.

* * *

><p>"Did you get the license plate number?"<p>

Cho glanced back to the door. Still no Lisbon. Hopefully she'd show up soon.

Craig shook his head, drawing Cho's attention back to him.

"No, not all of it. I know I saw an '8,' and I think there was an 'O,' but that's all. I was more focused on finding my girl. She'd been pretty freaked about finding a dead body."

"Naturally," Cho responded, glancing at his file.

Before he could ask anything else, Craig said, "Come on, I know you don't care about this. You want to know my story with your boss."

Lisbon's hand froze on the door knob.

She knew she was a little late, but she'd hoped she wasn't _this _late. She held her breath.

"It's none of my business," Cho replied calmly. "Now, this truck. Did it have any distinguishing marks? A door ding, maybe, or window paint?"

"No. Like I said, it was black."

Lisbon decided that was cue.

Opening the door, she said, "Jane says you know who our victim is."

"And Jane's always right, is he?" Craig challenged.

"More often then not," she admitted.

Jane grinned from behind the glass.

Craig shrugged. "I guess I'm one of the exceptions, then."

Lisbon groaned. "Look, knowing who she is doesn't make you a suspect. If we find out you're lying to us, you become suspect number one."

"Your boyfriend seems convinced I killed her, anyway. Why don't you just arrest me and get it over with?"

"Oh, I would love to," she answered, not acknowledging the 'boyfriend' comment. "But I don't want to let a killer go free, not even to arrest you."

Craig nodded. "Ok. Yeah, I know who she is. Name's Marge."

"Ok…Marge who?"

"I don't know," Craig replied. "We weren't that close," he added.

"How did you know her?" Cho asked.

"Amanda's starting a new jewelry business, and she doesn't have that many employees. I came in one day to help her work. Marge came in to look, and I showed her around. She didn't buy anything, though. Guess I wasn't a good enough salesman. " He joked.

Jane entered then. "Did she say anything to you about who she was? I know salesmen often make small talk with the customers, trying to win them over."

Craig shrugged. "Her husband's name is Mark, she's a local reporter…And she had some big story coming up, said she wanted to look her best. But you don't care about that, Mr. Jane. You want to know your girlfriend's story with me."

Jane smirked. "Actually, she already told me." He answered calmly.

"And you don't hate her?" Craig seemed genuinely surprised. At the shake of Jane's head, he said, "Well, I guess you found yourself one in a million, Reese. Congratulations. Can I go now?"

"Yes," Lisbon answered quickly. "Cho, could you show him out?"

Cho nodded. "Right this way."

She watched them leave, before turning to Jane. "I…" _I didn't tell you everything. _She couldn't bring herself to say it.

He smiled. "I know. But now, maybe he'll leave you alone. And, whenever you're ready…" He simply gestured to his ears. "I'll be here."

She smiled slightly. "Thanks. I'm fine, though."

Before he could answer, Rigsby and Van Pelt walked in. Rigsby started. "Hey, boss? The victim matches the description of a Marge Phillips. She's a local reporter. Mostly she looks into stuff for the paper, but she's done a few television interviews. Apparently she's done a lot of investigating different local crimes, mostly thefts and such. She had an interview scheduled for today. When she didn't show, her husband got worried, and reported her missing."

Lisbon nodded "Ok. What was the story on?"

He shrugged. "Her husband didn't know. Said that the only person he knew of that did know was the person who she was going on their show. A Barbra...Kelly."

"Ok, you go talk to her. Van Pelt, what've you got?"

"Nothing seems out of the ordinary. Lot's of calls and e-mails to Amanda, a small donation to help her start her business….Nothing to connect him to Phillips."

"Ok, well, check out Phillips now. Unusual transactions, strange phone calls…Anything."

"Yes, boss."

Lisbon turned to Jane. "Let's go talk to Mr. Phillips."

Jane nodded, not able to manage a smile. There was nothing fun about telling someone their loved one is dead.

**A/N: Well, I didn't give as much insight into her past as I had expected, but then, Lisbon's not the type to spill everything too fast, I don't think. I did put in a little, though, and gave you more of a setting for when Craig came along. Also, I threw in Cho, because really, who doesn't love Cho? :-)**

**Reviews are welcomed and savored, God Bless.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I am so sorry I didn't update sooner. I have been working on this chapter almost every spare moment since the last one. It's just that, during the week…I don't have that many spare moments. **

**This chapter is fairly long, so I hope that makes up for it, and while there's not that much outright, obvious Jane caring for Lisbon, (No Jisbon hugs yet,) there are quite a bit of subtle "Jane being caring") moments. Anyway, I think now I shall stop _telling _you about the chapter, and let you _read _it. :-)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist. Maybe for Valentine's Day from Bruno Heller? …Yeah…I guess not. But I can dream, can't I?**

Jane had been concerned when Lisbon had not only _not_ put up a fight when he wanted to drive, but even let them take his car.

Now, she was staring out the window thoughtfully, the radio on.

He gently reached over and cut it off.

"I was listening to that," she glared for effect.

"Hmmm," he nodded agreeably. "When was it, again?"

She froze. "The radio," she replied.

He chuckled. "What song?"

"What's it matter?" She snapped.

He simply chuckled again. "Well, my dear, I didn't like the song on, that's all."

She frowned. "Why not?"

Staring straight ahead, he replied, "Never been a Katy Perry fan, myself."

She blushed. "Ok, so maybe I wasn't listening to it," she replied, finding it pointless to lie then, "But the noise was still soothing."

"Distracting," he corrected. "Lisbon, I'm not going to pelt you with questions about Craig. I'm not going to lie, I'm dying to, but I won't."

She sighed. "Ok." And after a moment, she added softly, "Thanks."

He smiled and nodded.

Her phone rang, bringing her out of the moment. "Hello? Yeah, hey, Van Pelt. What's up?"

Jane watched out of the corner of his eye curiously. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, ok. Really? Hmmm… Well, thank, Grace."

She hung up. "Remember how Matthews said Phillips never bought anything at Amanda's shop?"

It didn't escape his notice, her use of Craig's last name, but he chose not to comment on it. "Yeah?"

"He lied. Van Pelt found out that Marge Phillips made a check out Amanda's store for over five thousand dollars,"

Jane whistled. "That's pretty expensive for handmade jewelry."

"That's what I was thinking," she answered.

"Maybe Mr. Phillips can explain it," he offered, gesturing to the house they'd just pulled up at.

Lisbon nodded. "Let's hope."

* * *

><p>"No, I have no idea why she'd-No. No idea. She is-was-the most frugal woman I ever-ever met."<p>

Jane studied the man. Genuine enough guilt, he noticed, but the man certainly had not killed his wife. His eyes drifted around the room. Pictures of Marge. Newspaper articles. A picture of what he guessed was Marge's colleagues at the paper.

He cut off Lisbon. He wasn't sure what she had been asking, but he accurately guessed that it was just another mundane, unhelpful question protocol ordered her to ask.

"Obviously, you didn't kill your wife, and clearly you adored her-there's only one picture of you in the whole room, the rest is her-, so why the guilt?"

The sad man shrugged. "I never deserved her. I didn't even have a job. If it weren't for the money she made reporting…She wrote a little on the side, too…Sent stuff in to magazines…Collected rewards…All of our income was hers. She deserved…Better..."

Jane studied him. "Ok. Lisbon, shall we?"

She stared. "Um, Jane?"

He hesitated. "Oh, do you have more questions for him?"

"Yes," she said patiently.

He nodded and sat next to her. He was done, but if she had more questions, he was at least going to be comfortable.

"Did your wife have any enemies?"

He shook his head. "No, not that I know of. Everybody loves-loved-Marge."

Lisbon nodded. "Ok. And you? Do you have any enemies?"

He shrugged. "Sure, but none that would kill my wife."

She raised her eyebrows. "You never know what other people are capable of."

He chuckled. "Oh, I know what these people are capable of. If they were mad at me, it wouldn't be her dead. It would be me. Knifed."

Jane raised his eyebrows.

Phillips added, "When I was younger, I was involved with some bad people. Druggies and such…They were pretty mad when I got out of the business, but I don't think they'd kill her, not like this, and certainly not now."

Lisbon nodded. "Thank you for your time. Before we leave, I'm going to need a list of their names, just in case."

He nodded. "Whatever you need." He pulled out a pen and paper and started the list.

* * *

><p><em>(Back in the car.)<em>

"Ok, I'll get back to you."

"Thanks, Van Pelt." Lisbon hung up and sighed.

Jane drove silently, waiting.

"They probably didn't do it," she finally said.

He shook his head. "Drug dealers are not famous for hitting people in the back of the head."

She agreed. "Besides, he'd been out for a while, so really, they had no motive."

She hesitated. "So, until we hear from Rigsby, Matthews is our number one suspect."

"Our only suspect," Jane corrected gently.

Lisbon nodded.

Jane smiled. "But we should hear from Rigsby about Barbara Kelly in three-two-"

Lisbon didn't even comment as her phone rang.

"Hey, Rigsby, what've you got?"

Jane smirked to himself.

Lisbon's eyebrows furrowed. Jane, instead of starting the car, watched her, hoping to learn something useful.

She nodded. "Yeah…Yeah…Yeah…We'll bring him in…." Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. Her eyes flared in anger. Jane winced, knowing what had been asked before she even said another word. "Yes, I can do it! I'm fine!"

Jane reached out and gently placed two fingers on her wrist. She closed her eyes.

After a deep breath, she said in a much calmer voice, "I mean, yes, I can do it. I want you to call Cho. You guys need to go ask Amanda about the purchase Phillips made at her shop on the fifteenth. Ok, bye."

She closed the phone and shot Jane and embarrassed glance, but he just gently squeezed her wrist and, with an understanding nod, went to cut the car on.

"We're heading to pick up Matthews." He stated simply.

She nodded, and told him his address.

He paused before saying, "I'm not Rigsby."

She laughed in surprise. "I know that."

He smiled. "My point is that, if you're not sure you can do this, you can tell me. I won't stop the car and send someone else or anything, and I certainly won't think less of you."

She hesitated. "If you're not looking for an excuse to stop, why are you even asking?"

He shrugged. "I thought you might want to talk."

She took a deep breath. He could see she was considering it, but in the end, she shook her head. "No, I'm good. I can do this."

She saw no point in adding the bit, "Because you'll be with me." He probably already knew, and if he didn't, all the better. Besides, she reasoned, it wasn't the fact that it was him that was so comforting. Just that she wasn't alone, and wasn't with someone on the team who would pry too much.

Realizing she had spaced out, she glanced over at Jane. _Focus…_

Jane smiled. "I never asked, but why are we picking Matthews up?"

She sighed. "Barbra Kelly didn't know what Marge's story was about. She said that up until yesterday, she's been told it was a story on Amanda's jewelry business, but yesterday evening, she stopped by and said it was about something different. Said it was too important for Kelly to cancel. She didn't say what it was, but as she was leaving, she made a phone call. Kelly says she heard Phillips muttering 'Craig' as she did."

Jane nodded.

He stared ahead.

Lisbon glanced out the window.

"What did you have for breakfast?" Jane asked suddenly.

She laughed. "I woke up in the middle of the night."

He frowned. "You didn't have breakfast?" She was surprised. He genuinely sounded concerned. "No…"

He shook his head. "Lisbon, you need to eat."

She laughed. "I'll keep that in mind, mother, but there is someone I need to go arrest and a killer I have to catch…"

He stared ahead thoughtfully. He obviously wasn't going to persuade her to eat. _Unless…_

A smile appeared on his face. "Ok, but tonight, whether the case is closed or not, I'm cooking you supper. No take-out food tonight."

She glanced at him sharply. He laughed. "Don't look so suspicious, my dear. I'm not going to poison you or anything."

She sighed. "Fine."

He grinned brightly. He had an opportunity to let Lisbon talk when they weren't at work, (And since they weren't going to be at work, he had no doubt she'd talk,) he was going to make sure she got some food…Now all that was left was bringing a smile to her face, and then, (At least for the moment,) his job would be done.

He made a confused face. "Ok, you're not going to believe this, but I forgot where we're going. We're…Going to pick up an elephant, right?" It was the first animal that came to his mind.

Her face froze in shock, before she cracked up. "That's not fair," she finally managed. "I like elephants."

Jane smirked. _Mission accomplished._

**A/N: Ok, I guess it's fairly obvious where I'm going with this. Jane's going to solve the case next chapter, and, depending on how long that takes, the dinner will probably be there, too. (And warm, full, happy Lisbon is more talkative than angry, hungry, guarded Lisbon. Am I right?) So, you will finally get the whole story, (Which is what I know most of you have been waiting for.) and maybe the 'goon' (One lovely anonymous reviewer, whom I could not thank personally, named Jazz, called him that. She left a rap-review…You guys should check it out.) will receive a punch in the nose. **_**Maybe. **_**We'll see.**

**Speaking of reviewers, I want to take a moment to thank all of you: YuukiCross5, ShellGrad, macisgate, Amri91, Anna, TwilightLover-CarlisleandEsme, Totorsg, Country2776, and Jazz.**

**Every one of you made my day. :-)**

**Also, all of the people who are subscribed or have added this to their favorites.**

**Thank you and God Bless**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Ok, I know you were all hoping for the dinner this chapter. So was I. But the case just got too long and in the way. I had already started the third page on the Word document when I could have finally _started _the dinner, and I didn't want it to be rushed. So, if you guys will be patient with me, there is now no murder mystery to get in the way of Jisbon focus. So, the next chapter _will _be the dinner. For sure.**

**I did include something that I promised, though. (Points for anyone who can figure out what it was before you read it.)**

**Disclaimer: I didn't get it from Bruno Heller for Valentine's day, so, still no.**

"We know you killed her, Mr. Matthews. The murder weapon was in your house with your prints on one end, and Marge Phillip's blood and tissue on the other, and when my colleague and I got to your house you were trying to throw it away. We know you killed her, we're just wondering why."

Jane frowned from behind the glass.

Craig wasn't showing any signs of guilt.

Now, Jane knew, that could just make him a sociopath. But some things weren't right with that. The look of determination, for one.

He looked determined to confess, yet he wasn't. Wasn't confessing outright, anyway, although he also hadn't denied it.

As much as Jane would have loved for him to be the killer, he wasn't. That much he was sure of. But the evidence was a little hard to dispute.

He watched closer.

Craig rolled his eyes. "If you have so much evidence, why don't you just arrest me?"

Jane frowned at the look of pure contempt on Craig's face.

He considered Lisbon purely worthless, Jane could tell, and he didn't like people looking at his Lisbon that way.

_His. _He didn't know when, mentally, he had started addressing her as _his, _and in that moment, he didn't care.

All he cared about was getting her out of that situation, and fast.

He glanced at Van Pelt gratefully when she walked in. "Hey, Grace. What've you got?"

After they found Craig throwing the murder weapon away, they had called her and asked her to double-check his records.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's just, you know how Amanda said she called him _after _she called the cops?"

Jane nodded. She continued, "Well, according to his phone records, he received the call at 4:05 A.M. At 4:45, it has a call from his phone to the local police station. On a hunch, I checked her phone records. She never called the cops."

Suddenly, Jane understood. _Of course…_

"Thanks, Van Pelt, you just closed the case."

She smiled, but there was confusion in her eyes, as was often the case around Jane. "Thanks, I guess."

With a blinding smile, he stepped into the interrogation room. "Lisbon, may I?"

She shrugged. "Of course."

He took the seat next to her. "Honestly, Craig, you're very good. You almost got away with it. If only Amanda had called the cops sooner."

Craig froze.

Jane continued, "I suppose when Amanda called and told you she was in trouble, you decided to do whatever it took to help her. When you found her standing over a dead body holding a two-by-four, what did you think?"

Craig hesitated, before sighing. Surrender was in his eyes. Jane had seen few things that made him happier.

"What do you want to know?" Craig asked.

* * *

><p>"So it turns out that Mr. Phillips never completely lost his roots," Lisbon explained. Wainwright nodded.<p>

Lisbon continued, "He felt bad that he couldn't provide for Marge, so he called one of his old drug buddies, hoping they could set him up with an income. They told him no, they wouldn't do it themselves, but they told about one of their providers."

Jane took over. "Sweet, innocent, beautiful Amanda Haynze. Her jewelry business was a great front for a drug business."

Lisbon again. "So Mark gave her a call, and she sat him up. Marge figured it out, and decided that instead of confronting her husband, she'd pay Amanda to stop providing him with drugs."

"That's what the money was for," Wainwright realized.

"Exactly. But when she realized that Amanda was still giving him drugs, she decided to do the right thing."

"That's why she was going on Barbara's show: To set the record straight." Jane added.

Lisbon took over again. Wainwright wondered if they knew how they looked when they did that. _Probably not, _he decided. "Amanda found out, met with Marge to beg her not to go public with the story…"

Jane finished it up. "…And when Marge wouldn't cooperate, Amanda hit her with the closest thing she could find."

Wainwright nodded. "But where does Craig come into all this?"

Lisbon sighed. "When Amanda realized that she had, indeed, killed someone, she called him, hoping he could fix it. He promised her he'd take the blame if it came to that, and helped make the problem disappear. Guess he didn't count on Jane."

Jane grinned at the compliment, but wished it hadn't been the result of her stressed out mind.

Wainwright clapped his hands together. "Oh, that's right, Jane?"

"Yes?"

"Craig claims that after the interrogation, you punched him in the nose. However, no camera caught it, so I was wondering: Is he telling the truth?"

"No. Why would I punch him?"

Wainwright shrugged. "Good point…Well, congratulations, guys. Good job closing the case."

He stepped away from them, disappearing into his office.

Lisbon turned to Jane. "I can't believe you actually punched him."

Jane shrugged. "He insulted you multiple times! What was I supposed to do?"

Lisbon groaned. "You could have gotten the charges dropped against him!"

"Meh."

"Meh? You know, Jane, sometimes you are unbelievable."

He chuckled. "You loved it, admit it. You've always wanted someone to step in and defend you, instead of leaving you to do it yourself. You've always wanted a guy to fight to defend you." Grinning at her shocked face, he added, "Now c'mon, Lisbon. Dinner at your house."

"Fine."

**A/N: Well, there you go. :-) Four chapters down, one to go. (Or possibly more, it depends on whether I decide to add an epilogue or not.) So, show of hands, how many people guessed the punch in the nose before you read about it?**

**Thank you for reading, and God Bless.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So, this is either the last chapter, or the next to last. I have an idea for an epilogue, if you guys are interested.  
>But this is it...The big reveal! I hope no one's disappointed.<br>Disclaimer: Hmmm...Not yet. Maybe for _St. Patrick's Day? _Please, Bruno?  
>Ok...Maybe not. I can dream, can't I?<strong>

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><p>"This was good." Lisbon smiled at Jane.<p>

He grinned. "Thank you."

He had made her spaghetti, salad, and red velvet cake. Admittedly, the cake was from a box, but still, Lisbon was impressed.

"I didn't know you could cook."

He shrugged. "My wife…Never mind. Sorry…"

Lisbon shook her head. "I…" _I want to know._

She never really _had_ to finish sentences, not with him around.

He knew.

He took a deep breath. "My wife refused to marry me until I learned to cook. So…Learn I did."

She smiled. She always enjoyed hearing what little he would share about his past.

_Past._

Suddenly, she remembered.

She smiled. "Don't think I don't know what all of this is about."

He looked at her, surprised, but quickly covered it with a look of innocence. "What do you mean?"

She sighed. "_This…_The dinner, telling me about your wife…Spoiling me…I know why you're doing this."

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

She nodded. "You're hoping that I'll break down and tell you about Craig."

He didn't really like the phrase 'Hoping I'll _break down.'_

That was that last thing in the world he wanted.

Silencing those thoughts, because he knew that's not what she meant, he said, "I told you I wouldn't ask you any questions about Craig."

Lisbon smirked. "You didn't say anything about bribery, and this…" she paused to gesture at her sauce-covered plate, "Is bribery."

He shrugged sheepishly. "Maybe."

She closed her eyes. He had done all of this to hear the story…So much….He'd even opened up about his own past. That was something she was convinced he was scared to do, as if, if he opened up the memories too many times, they'd just fly away.

And he'd done it.

For _her._

To make _her _feel more open.

To make _her _feel more comfortable.

More safe.

And she did.

She opened her eyes, the decision suddenly easy.

"Come with me."

The confusion was clear on his face, but he obeyed.

Once in the living room, she gestured to the couch, before opening up a box.

After digging around for a moment, (In which he could have _sworn _he saw the origami frog he gave her,) she pulled out a photo album.

Taking her place beside him on the couch, she started flipping through pages.

Finally, she stopped at one picture.

His eyes fell onto the sight of a much younger Teresa Lisbon, (In his opinion she looked as good now as she did then,) and a much younger Craig Matthews.

They were dressed up, (For some school dance, he guessed,) and their smiles were bright and cheerful. _Genuine. _

Lisbon leaned back in her seat, and almost involuntarily, his arm rested around her shoulder.

She made no effort to move.

She took a deep breath. "It wasn't like you're thinking, I'm sure. He never cheated on me, he never pressured me…I never got pregnant. It wasn't your average teenage nightmare. He was…Prince Charming. Sweet, caring…"

"But he hurt you." It wasn't a question.

She glanced back at the picture. "That night, after the dance, we went out for pizza. To talk, bond…You know."

He nodded, and she continued, "I told him about my mom. I mean, he'd known…"

She paused, and he could see tears shimmering in her eyes. Shimmering, but not falling.

He pulled her tighter toward him, wanting to protect her from the memories.

She started again. "He'd known about her dying, he just hadn't known…"

She gathered up every ounce of her courage before saying, "He hadn't known it was my fault until that night."

He froze. She started to pull away, obviously thinking he was horrified.

He pulled her close again. _Not horrified. Just confused._

She continued, shaking, "That night…She wouldn't have been out driving. She would have been home, safe, with her kids. But…She'd promised to buy me a cherry pie that day, and when we got back from shopping…I realized she hadn't. And when I pointed it out, she told my dad she had some things to take care of and left…When that policeman showed up, all I could think was that she was killed over a stupid cherry pie… I never told anyone….Until…"

She was almost crying, but stopping herself, for his sake. Or for her pride's sake. He wasn't sure which.

He turned her slightly, so that her head was on his shoulder.

She understood the unspoken message: _I'm here. It's ok to cry with me._

She struggled for only a moment, before giving in.

Years and years' worth of tears fell from her eyes, as she sobbed against his shoulder.

He gently rubbed her back, whispering nonsense into her ear.

Finally, her tears stopped.

He didn't say it wasn't her fault. He didn't have to. She could see it written in his eyes.

She considered for a moment, before deciding to finish the story. "When I told him, he freaked out. Told me I should have told him sooner. Told me it was all my fault, and that he could never forgive me. He broke up with me, of course…But he also told all of our friends. He told everyone in town that he met, really…Teachers…Cops…Everyone. But apparently that wasn't enough for him, because one day I came home and found my dad…He was completely drunk, and Craig was sitting on our couch. My dad….He looked ready to kill me."

He knew it wasn't a figure of speech. Suddenly, realization dawned on him. He held her tightly, but allowed her to continue. "He was yelling that it was my fault, that I killed my mom…Craig leaned over and whispered something into his ear…It probably saved my life, but…He said 'What's the point? She'll never understand…Why don't you just end it?' So he did."

She had no more tears to cry, but she shook in his arms.

He held as tightly as he could.

His mind raced. He'd always thought they were so different. Sure, they'd both lost people, but her mom was killed by a drunk driver, and her dad killed himself. There's no way she could understand his guilt, right?

Only she did. Maybe it wasn't her fault, but he knew she'd still have to go the rest of her life with that guilt, because it certainly wouldn't go away.

He'd tried so hard to push her away, because she _didn't know darkness. _She didn't _deserve_ to know darkness.

But she already did…And he'd left her alone in it for so long…

In a moment of impulse, he lifted her chin, and placed his lips to hers.

Immediately, he felt terrible. She was probably more vulnerable than she had been in years. She didn't deserve-

But she was kissing him back.

He was being kissed by Teresa Lisbon.

It wasn't a hungry, desperate kiss.

It was soft, gentle…_Loving._

The idea shocked him, but he instantly knew it was true; he loved her.

And suddenly, he could see it: Dates, dancing with her, proposing, (In a big, dramatic scene in front of everyone at work, shocking their colleagues, and earning him a hurled paperweight, but of course she'd say yes. Of _course _she would.) their wedding, a baby shower, holding twins, a boy and a girl, in his arms…Attending their daughter's wedding…Staring at his grandchild…He could see it all.

And for the first time, seeing a future beyond Red John didn't terrify him.

_Red John._

The one thing he hadn't thought of.

Red John would kill her for sure.

He pulled away regretfully.

She stared at him. "I can't lose you," he whispered.

She understood immediately what he meant.

"We _will _catch him Jane. We will. Soon. And I'll still be here."

He nodded.

He held back the desire to ask her to promise, knowing he didn't need to. She'd still be there.

He trusted her.

She stood, and he followed.

He left not ten minutes later, but just before he left, he pulled her into a tight hug. "Soon," she whispered in his ear. "Soon."

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><p><strong>AN: Hmmmm...I hope it wasn't too OOC at the end, with him kissing her. I didn't think it was, and honestly, I enjoyed writing it. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much. Reviews are loved, and God Bless.**


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